Castleman didn't want switch to LB

It had seemed a given for the past 10 months that Amarillo High nose tackle James Castleman would play his college football at Texas Tech, and come Wednesday it was expected he would seal the deal by signing a national letter-of-intent.

Well, Castleman still plans on signing to play in the Big 12. Only it won't be for Texas Tech. He orally committed to Oklahoma State on Monday, and a big reason is he wants to remain a defensive lineman.

For the past two months, Castleman said, he had second thoughts about his original decision of committing to Tech. Second thoughts led him to make a trip last weekend to Stillwater, Okla.

"I went to Tech almost every home game and kept having that weird feeling, wondering if I should be there," Castleman said.

That feeling probably had a lot to do with where Tech wanted to play Castleman. He was a dominant lineman at Amarillo High, where he was a two-time Amarillo Globe-News Super Team Defensive Player of the Year and District 2-5A Defensive Player of the Year.

However, Tech was seriously considering moving Castleman to linebacker once he arrived in Lubbock.

OSU defensive coordinator Bill Young, though, told Castleman he wanted him to stay on the defensive line. That, and the fact that OSU runs a similar defense to Amarillo High's, is what changed Castleman's mind.

"I told Tech that they didn't do anything wrong, but I just felt more at home with Oklahoma State," Castleman said.

Even though Castleman had originally intended to play for Tech, Oklahoma State never gave up on being a potential suitor of the 6-foot-4, 275-pounder.

"They talked to me here and there, but they never pressured me," Castleman said of the Oklahoma State coaching staff. "I called them and told them I was reconsidering them."

Castleman said former Tech quarterback Sonny Cumbie contacted him about visiting Amarillo to change his mind again, but he declined.

"It feels a lot better now that I actually know where I'm going," Castleman said. "(Tech coaches) said they wanted to come visit me, but I told them they could use their gas money on getting someone else."